# Silas Wegg — Our Mutual Friend character guide > Silas Wegg in Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Wegg, Mr. Wegg, Silas, the wooden Wegg **First appearance:** 0007-vii-mr-wegg-looks-after-himself ## Snapshot A one-legged ballad-seller with a wooden leg and a wooden conscience, he is hired to read to Mr. Boffin and quietly plots to read himself into the will. ## Who they are Wegg first meets Boffin as a street singer and is later installed in the Bower as a reader, a position he treats as a foothold for something larger. His cautious, self-serving manner—always weighing what a man might wish to do some day—conceals a scheme to profit from a hidden document connected to the Harmon estate. As Boffin's household grows grander, Wegg's petty treachery becomes the novel's sharpest satire on the greed that wealth attracts. ## Relationships ### [Mr. Boffin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/characters/mr_boffin) _professional_ Mr. Boffin hires Silas Wegg as a reader and later as a clerk, but Wegg secretly plots to blackmail him. ### [Mr. Venus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/characters/mr_venus) _professional_ Mr. Venus, a taxidermist, initially partners with Wegg in a scheme to defraud Boffin, but later betrays Wegg out of conscience. ### [Eugene Wrayburn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/characters/eugene_wrayburn) _social_ Eugene and Silas Wegg are barely connected, with Eugene regarding Wegg with amused contempt as a lowly street vendor. ### [Eugene Wrayburn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/characters/eugene_wrayburn) _social_ Eugene and Silas Wegg are barely connected, with Eugene regarding Wegg with amused contempt as a lowly street vendor. ### [Mr. Boffin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/characters/mr_boffin) _professional_ Mr. Boffin hires Silas Wegg as a reader and later as a clerk, but Wegg secretly plots to blackmail him. ### [Mr. Venus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/characters/mr_venus) _professional_ Mr. Venus, a taxidermist, initially partners with Wegg in a scheme to defraud Boffin, but later betrays Wegg out of conscience. ### [Mr. Boffin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/characters/mr_boffin) _professional_ Mr. Boffin hires Silas Wegg as a reader and later as a clerk, but Wegg secretly plots to blackmail him. ### [Mr. Venus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/characters/mr_venus) _professional_ Mr. Venus, a taxidermist, initially partners with Wegg in a scheme to defraud Boffin, but later betrays Wegg out of conscience. ### [Eugene Wrayburn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/characters/eugene_wrayburn) _social_ Eugene and Silas Wegg are barely connected, with Eugene regarding Wegg with amused contempt as a lowly street vendor. ## In the story ### [Book the First: The Cup and the Lip](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/book-the-first-the-cup-and-the-lip) Hired by Mr. Boffin to read books aloud, marking his entry into the Boffin household. ### [Boffin's Bower](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/v-boffin-s-bower) A one-legged street vendor hired by Mr. Boffin as a reader; he is cunning, self-important, and sees the job as an opportunity for profit. ### [Mr. Wegg Looks After Himself](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/vii-mr-wegg-looks-after-himself) Visits Mr. Venus to buy back his amputated leg, revealing his ambition and desire for respectability. ### [Two New Servants](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/xv-two-new-servants) Literary man with a wooden leg; Mr. Boffin fears his jealousy and plans to offer him a new position. ### [A Dismal Swamp](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/xvii-a-dismal-swamp) Remains at the Bower, secretly searching under bedsteads and in dust-mounds with an iron rod, hoping to find something. ### [Book the Second: Birds of a Feather](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/book-the-second-birds-of-a-feather) Silas Wegg remains in Mr. Boffin's employ as his reader, scheming in the background. ### [In Which a Friendly Move Is Originated](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/vii-in-which-a-friendly-move-is-originated) Resents Boffin's visits; manipulates Boffin with nostalgia; completes purchase from Venus; proposes joint search of the dust mounds. ### [A Successor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/x-a-successor) Gloats over the failure of the adoption plan, performing a triumphant dance in the Bower. ### [Book the Third: A Long Lane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/book-the-third-a-long-lane) Silas Wegg is plotting with Mr. Venus to use the discovered will against Mr. Boffin. ### [The Golden Dustman Falls Into Worse Company](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/vi-the-golden-dustman-falls-into-worse-company) Frustrated with the slow progress of his scheme, Wegg entertains Mr. Venus and reads tales of misers to Mr. Boffin, becoming increasingly suspicious of Boffin's actions. ### [The Friendly Move Takes Up a Strong Position](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/vii-the-friendly-move-takes-up-a-strong-position) Reveals finding a cashbox, proposes controlling Mr. Boffin, and manipulates Mr. Venus by referencing Pleasant Riderhood. ### [Mr. Wegg Prepares a Grindstone for Mr. Boffin’s Nose](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/xiv-mr-wegg-prepares-a-grindstone-for-mr-boffin-s-nose) Grows increasingly resentful of Mr. Boffin, viewing Boffin's actions as theft of his own property; plans to threaten Boffin and assert control over the Harmon estate. ### [The Golden Dustman Sinks Again](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/iii-the-golden-dustman-sinks-again) Takes a threatening and domineering tone with Mr. Boffin, demanding a three-way split of the estate, a thousand-pound charge for a bottle, and the discharge of Rokesmith; he escorts Boffin to Venus's shop. ### [Checkmate to the Friendly Move](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/chapters/xiv-checkmate-to-the-friendly-move) Wegg is gaunt and haggard from keeping watch over the Mound removal, but anticipates his revenge on Mr. Boffin. He is ultimately outwitted, humiliated, and physically ejected by Sloppy. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/characters/silas_wegg - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_mutual_friend_se/characters